Awoken
by MusicoftheSoul96
Summary: MODERN DAY. Erik is the owner of a huge music empire and Christine is a singer trying to get somewhere. What happens when Erik's face is exposed to the world and to Christine? E/C pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi, this is my first fanfiction, I did start one a while ago but never finished it but I am determined to finish this one especially since it's the summer holidays so I have no excuse. I have the majority of the plot figured out so updates should be regular :) _**

_Why am I doing this?! _Was the thought running through Christine's head as she gave herself one last look over in the mirror. Her blonde hair, looking almost golden, flowed around her face before coming to rest just below her shoulders. Her clear blue eyes were vacant and seemed to be far away whilst the rest of her face gave away just how nervous she was. Wondering how she ended up in the position she was now in, she cast her bind back to a day ago.

"_Aww, come on Chris! Even you can't give up an opportunity like this! " Meg turned her pleading eyes to her best friend, "Especially after my mum went through so much to get it for you…" She then proceeded to stick out her bottom lip whilst bashing her eyebrows. _

_Christine couldn't help it and had to laugh.__"That really doesn't suit you Meg" before sighing, "Fine, but I'm doing it for your mum, not you. I owe her so much if it wasn't for her when my Father passed away I would have ended up on the streets."_

_ Despite the sadness behind Christine's words Meg gave a delighted squeal before launching herself at Christine and hugging her tight. Christine just rolled her eyes already feeling nervous. Meg's mum was the manager of one of the most exclusive clubs in London. The reason it was exclusive? Well it was owned by a Mr Destler, again… why so exclusive? Well, he was the owner of a huge music company anything to do with music, they were involved with, thing is, no one had ever seen him. Oh there were a few, but those select few dare not day a word. No one knew if it was because they were scared or just wanted the publicity for the company. Either way, it worked._

"Five minutes Miss Daee" a voice spoke from behind the door. Christine blinked out of her reverie. She could feel herself trembling with nerves and although not very religious sent a silent prayer up to her father.

_Dad, if you're listening please help me, give me strength. You were always the reason I sang and now you're not here I don't know what to do. I feel so lost._

She opened her eyes and caught the reflection of herself as a single tear rolled from her crystal, blue eyes. She took a deep breath and tried to blink the rest away before heading out of her door and making her way to the stage.

She vaguely remembered seeing Mrs Giry before walking onto the stage but it all blurred into one until the moment she got up onto stage and then everything came into sharp focus. She felt panic rise in her throat and swallowed trying to get rid of it. She spotted Meg in the crowd giving her an encouraging smile. Christine closed her eyes and recalled all the memories of her father, her angel of music and his promise to send her a new one when he passed away. _Tonight, I will sing for you Papa. _

The music started playing softly and with her eyes closed she began to sing.

**Fighting for the things you gave me**

**I want to share your love**

**Feeling like a wounded soldier**

**Strength is not enough**

**And I can't win this battle on my own**

As she came to the chorus she felt herself get wrapped up in the music and all the grief and loneliness she felt started to come through, she could feel tears from her eyes as the emotions from the past year found their release. She opened her eyes and looked to the back of the room where she made out a white mask which seemed to be floating, it contrasted with the dark background of the club and was surprised that no one else seemed to pay any attention to it. For the rest of the song she let herself believe that it was her new angel of music and sang for him. When she let herself believe this her voice suddenly became stronger and life seemed to flow back into her.

**Your songs are stored inside my heart**

** So break me apart**

** It's for your glory**

As she came to a finish there was a moment of silence before an eruption of applause. Meg was smiling broadly at her, her face full of pride for her best friend but Christine hardly noticed as she looked for the floating white mask, but it had gone. She felt a tug of sadness as realized it must have been her imagination mixed with the promises her father had made that caused her to see it. She walked resignedly off stage where she locked herself in her dressing room and cried. She hadn't cried once since her father died, instead feeling a sort of numb shock and now, over a year later it had all come to the surface and she broke down all because she sang. Between sobs she vowed to herself she would never sing again.

"_Why do you cry angel?" _

Christine jumped in fear as a voice spoke to her, a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and yet seemed to come from nowhere.

**A/N**

Song is "For your Glory" from the TV show: Nashville.

I thought it was very fitting for missing someone who used to be the inspiration of your music.

Please R & R

:) xx


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** **I do not claim any of the original characters found in the books by Leroux or Kay or in the stage play by Andre Lloyd Webber. None of the music or poetry used is mine either. I did however, create the plot. **

"Who's there?!"

Christine stood up looking around for the source of the voice. There was no reply and Christine started to get angry, how dare someone invade her privacy like that watching her cry and then not own up to it.

"Show yourself" she was more confident this time, anger covering the embarrassment of being seen crying. All that greeted her was silence.

"Coward" she muttered, turning to open the door. Just as she looked back she noticed a piece of paper floating to the ground. She walked over and inspected it, it was a business card. On the front was printed: D & K Records Ltd. she looked on the back and in an elegant scrawl were the words_: Christine, tomorrow 1pm, top floor_. She looked at it in confusion and the feeling she was being watched came over her. She left the room in a rush without looking back. If she had, she would have seen her floating mask in the shadows.

She slowed down as she neared the exit, realizing she needed to wait for Meg and her mum as they were her lift home. With a sigh she wandered back to the club still unsure whether to be angry or scared, after all someone had been spying on her _To me… that's creepy_. She sighed again and decided to just forget about it still feeling confused. Someone probably left her that business card, she can always ask Mrs Giry about it. With determination to forget about it she carried on to the door that would lead her to the club. Just as she was nearing it, it slammed open and Meg burst through chatting away to a young man. "You should be lucky, hardly anyone is given access to this area, the only reason I'm even allowed is because my mum manages this club and she knows Mr Destler well." At this the man's eyes seemed to look at her apprehensively.

"So he is real then"

"Of course he is" Meg turned and gave him a look as if he was stupid. As Meg turned around, she noticed Christine for the first time.

"Oh my God, Christine! You were amazing! I told you it'd be okay! I told you and you proved me right!" with this Meg gave her a massive grin before launching herself and giving her a hug. Christine laughed.

"Thanks Meg, I'm just so tired now, do you think your mum would be able to drop me off"

Meg pushed back to look at Christine, "Jeeze Chris, you don't look too well, I don't know though she's got to clear some stuff up here, loads of people are asking to meet you, and she's trying to keep them from coming in" Meg gave her a sympathetic smile before it turned into a full one again "this could be your lucky break!"

Christine didn't know how to feel, she was still confused from all that had happened tonight and her eyes kept drifting to the man Meg had brought backstage, he looked vaguely familiar. As their eyes met a torrent of memories came back, a red scarf flying into the sea and a teenage boy running in after it.

"Raoul?" Christine whispered in amazement. The boy smiled back having recognized her when she sang and just waiting for her to recognize him,

"Little Lotte" He replied.

Meg looked between the two and smiled to herself, before walking off to find her mother.

Christine smiled fondly at the old nickname "I can't believe it's you! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm investigating the man behind the company that owns this building, Mr Destler, Meg offered to show me backstage, see if I could speak to anyone who knows him."

Christine laughed, "Investigating? What are you now, a journalist or the police? Last time I met you, you wanted to be a lawyer?"

Raoul shifted uneasily, "Yeah something like that" although his response was a bit cryptic, she didn't think about it too much, instead reveling in the company of a long lost friend. Looking for a change of topic Raoul inquired after her father. When her eyes dropped and seemed to fill with tears he instantly regretted it.

"My father's dead Raoul." She said matter-of-factly, trying her hardest not to feel.

"Christ, I'm so sorry, I wish I'd have known" he hugged her and she hugged him back it felt so natural and brought back even more memories of their childhood spent together. Raoul was a close connection with her father, closer than Ann Giry, Meg's mother was and so she relished in his touch, remembering her father,

"It's okay, it was sudden, no one knew until it happened, some sort of aneurysm." Raoul was speechless he didn't know what to say, although she tried to hide it Christine's grief was so deep it cut through him to see his close friend in so much emotional pain.

"Hey, let me drive you home if Meg and her mum won't be finished for a while, you look like you could do with some sleep." He stepped back but kept hold of her shoulders. All thoughts of finding out about Mr Destler gone as he looked into her eyes which were consumed with grief.

She looked up at him gratefully, "thanks" she whispered.

As they walked out together, a set of golden eyes watched them leave.


	3. Chapter 3

Once settled into Raoul's car, an uncomfortable silence passed between them before Raoul's broke it.

"So, erm, have you been up to much these days"

Christine had been gazing out of the window watching the streetlight a pass in an orange blur.

"Hmmm?" She asked still gazing out of the window.

"I asked what you've been up to." It was a statement now and there was a slight annoyed edge to Raoul's tone.

"Oh right, I'm so sorry!" she looked at him apologetically feeling bad for ignoring him when he was driving her home. "I'm just tired I guess" she shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. "Well, I went to college, I was going to go to university, and I had acceptance letters from every single one ..." She trailed off.

"What happened?" Raoul's looked at her curiously, her dream was always to go to university to get her teaching qualification.

"Life I guess... When my father passed away I just couldn't face it." She sighed. "And now I work full time a waitress and I'm saving up so maybe I'll try again next year?" The way she said it made it sound like a question, as if asking Raoul's whether he thought she was good enough. He didn't pick up on this though and she carried on. "What about you, it's been ages!" She smiled up at him, pushing her insecurities to the side.

"I know" he said before glancing at her, "too long." He turned his eyes back to the road before continuing. "I went to university, studied to be a lawyer... just like Philip wanted me to do" Chrisitne remembered how Raoul had always lived in the shadow of his older brother, he may have had a privileged life but that didn't mean he always had it easy.

Christine looked at him confusion, "But I thought you were a reporter?" Raoul looked flustered for a moment.

"Yeah well … let's just say law school didn't agree with me" the tone of his voice let Christine know he didn't want to go any deeper into it. She respected this, after all he hadn't pushed her about not going to university. It was then that Christine realized she wasn't the only one whose life hadn't worked out quite the way they had planned it. Raoul looked so forlorn as he gazed out of the windscreen, a piece of blonde hair had fallen into his eyes reminding Christine of the young boy he once was and the times they had together as children and teenagers.

Christine wondered why she was feeling funny for a moment before she realized she was almost…happy, she felt the start of her old teenage crush on this boy sat next to her come back in full force. She blushed feeling twelve again and instantly felt guilty, she had been grieving her father not even an hour ago.

_Oh God, I need to get out._

"Where am I going Chrissie?" Christine didn't even register the old nickname he had started calling her again, all she knew was it was getting harder to breath, the air was pushing on her lungs and the car was getting smaller.

"Right ahead, then the last house" she managed to say, sounding calmer than she felt. Luckily she could see the house she occupied with both the Giry's right ahead and not wanting to have a full blown panic attack in front of Raoul, she flung open the door and rushed out before Raoul had stopped the car completely. With a rushed "thank you" and a hurried "goodbye" she rushed up the path fumbling with her keys to open the door.

As she got the keys in the doors, she thought she could feel a presence behind her. She turned around quickly swearing she caught a glimpse of something orange in the shadows at the bottom of the path. Raoul was just leaving with a puzzled look on his face and she gave him a quick wave before rushing into the house and up to her room, not bothering to put any lights on.

Once there, she collapsed, hyperventilating. With tears streaming down her face, she let herself cry just for this night in the privacy of her room, with no disembodied voices to interrupt her. She let herself cry for the loss of her father a year ago, the loss of her future and most of all, the loss of herself.

A man shrouded in shadows looked upon this girl in puzzlement. _Why does she cry? _This girl seemed in so much pain and yet one would never tell when she was with her friend Meg and those around her. _She wears a mask_ he thought, _just like me. _ He turned to leave however, something stopped this stranger from doing so.

It was only when Mrs Giry came home to find the young girl huddled into herself on her bedroom floor hours later that he left. Claiming to himself he was only watching over her. _Like an Angel _he mused to himself finding it ironic with what he knew lay beneath the mask. He raised his arm to touch the black leather, cold and unfeeling. Suddenly he knew he no longer belonged here, outside an angels window, he jumped down from tree gracefully before slipping into the night, but not before dropping another of his business cards through the open window.


End file.
